The Last Straw
by NekoSama
Summary: Darien is so tired and takes matters into his own hands.


The Last Straw  
Fanfic by: NekoSama (aka Chris)  
Email: nekosama@ix.netcom.com  
Catagory:Angst  
Rating: PG for violence   
Summary: Darien is so tired and takes matters into his own hands  
Warning: Character death  
Spoilers: 'Enemy of my Enemy'  
Standard disclaimer: The Invisible Man and all the characters are not mine and are used without permission. I am not getting paid for this.  
  
  
  
Darien turned off his car and went inside his apartment. He and Hobbes had spent the rest of the day trying to get information from the Chrysalis agents without much success.  
  
He went over to his new stereo and turned on the cd player. The weight of everything that had happened finally sunk in as the first song began.  
  
  
'Never made it as a wise man  
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing  
Tired of living like a blind man  
I'm sick inside without a sense of feeling  
And this is how you remind me  
This is how you remind me  
Of what I really am...'  
  
  
His mind went back to when Kevin had come to him and gotten him out of prison to be in the Quicksilver project.   
  
Kevin promised him that he only had a few weeks of testing and then he'd take out the gland. He'd be free. Kevin had appealed to his sense of decency, tried to remind him that he should be able to do something better with his life.  
  
He had trusted Kevin. Then everything had gone wrong.  
  
  
'It's not like you to say sorry  
I was waiting on a different story  
This time I'm mistaken  
For handing you a heart worth breaking...'  
  
  
Kevin had been killed and Darien had ended up working for the Agency because of the flaw that Arnaud had engineered into the gland.  
  
The Official had promised to keep him sane with the counteragent until they could figure out a way to remove the gland without killing him.  
  
He'd do missions for the Agency, working with a partner and having a Keeper to take care of him.   
  
There had been a lot of bad times when he'd gone quicksilver mad and almost killed Hobbes, Claire, Eberts and the Official, but the counteragent had been able to bring him back to normal.  
  
  
'I've been wrong, I've been down  
Been to the bottom of every bottle  
These five words in my head scream  
Are we having fun yet...'  
  
  
He trusted Claire with his life and his sanity. She'd always told him that when she found a way to remove the gland safely that he'd be the first one to know. That she'd put him ahead of the Agency.  
  
Now, after two years she still hadn't found a way to remove the gland. And what was worse, he was building up an immunity to the counteragent. Very soon it would stop working altogether.  
  
Then something had finally gone right. He'd been able to capture Arnaud and Arnaud knew how to remove the flaw that caused the quicksilver madness.  
  
Darien would finally be free of having to keep getting shots... no more worrying about losing control and hurting the people he cared about.  
  
  
'It's not like you didn't know that  
I said I love you and I swear I still do  
It must have been so bad  
'Cause living with me must have damn near killed you...'  
  
  
He'd been so happy when he and Hobbes had left to take down Chrysalis. Everything was finally working out for him.  
  
His world had come crashing down when they'd gotten back.  
  
Arnaud had escaped and Claire hadn't gotten the information from him before he'd gotten away.  
  
A cold chill seeped into him along with the shot of counteragent. He should have known better.  
  
  
'This is how you remind me  
Of what I really am  
This is how you remind me  
Of what I really am...'  
  
  
He couldn't meet Claire's eyes when he left the Keep. She'd done her best, but now he had to face the facts.  
  
Very soon the counteragent would stop working completely. The only way he'd be able to live after that would be inside of the padded room until The Official had them take the gland out.  
  
Darien sighed. He knew what he had to do. He recalled the last thing that Kevin had said to him right before he died: 'Don't let them have what's inside of you.'  
  
"Alright, bro, I'm granting your last request," Darien said as he put the gun he'd taken from Arnaud to his temple. "See you soon, Kev," he whispered and pulled the trigger.  
  
The gunshot blast echoed loudly and then died out, the only sound remaining was the cd changing to it's next track.  
  
  
****  
  
  
Claire shot up in bed clutching her sheets around her. She'd just had an awful dream about Darien. She grabbed her phone and dialed his number.  
  
Her heart raced when she got no answer. "Oh God, please don't let that mean what I think it does," her hands trembled as she dialed Bobby's number.  
  
"Bobby Hobbes," he snapped into the phone. It was 2 AM.  
  
"Bobby, it's Claire. I think there might be something wrong with Darien. Will you meet me at his place?" she asked as she pulled on a pair of pants.  
  
"You think he's gone quicksilver wacko already, Keepy?"  
  
"I don't know, he's not answering his phone," she told him.  
  
"Alright, Claire, I'll meet you there in 10 minutes," Hobbes replied snapping awake at the thought of Darien in trouble.  
  
"Thank you, Bobby," Claire added and then hung up the phone. She grabbed a shirt and then slipped a pair of shoes on. She almost tripped over Pavlov on her way down the stairs.  
  
He seemed to sense that something was wrong too.  
  
  
****  
  
  
Bobby got to Darien's apartment before Claire did. He knocked on the door. "Hey Fawkes, open up, partner," he frowned when he got no response.  
  
Claire ran up just as he started picking the lock. "Still no luck?" she asked.  
  
"No. Now you have ME worried. Course after today I could understand if Fawkes just didn't want any company right now," he mumbled fiddling with the door.  
  
Claire shuddered when Bobby said that. She hated what The Official had made her do. After two years of promising to help Darien and now having something that WOULD work, she'd lied to him.  
  
"Aha!" Bobby said triumphantly and opened the door. He drew his gun just in case. "Fawkes? You ok buddy?"  
  
After a moment Claire turned on the light switch by the door. She followed Bobby's lead. She stopped when she heard Bobby draw in a sharp breath before saying, "Oh God, no..."  
  
Her world seemed to turn upside down, a scream passing from her lips before the blackness claimed her.  
  
The next thing she knew there was a cold cloth against her temple and Bobby was talking to her.  
  
"Come on Claire...wake up..." Bobby called to her.  
  
Her head was in his lap. He'd taken a sheet and covered Darien's body with it. "It's all my fault," she moaned.  
  
"Shhhh...Claire. It's not your fault. I called 911 already they'll be here soon," he pulled her up into a chair and grabbed her a glass of water. "Here, drink this," he handed it to her. Tears were streaming down his face.  
  
"But Bobby...it IS my fault," she started after taking a sip the sorrow heavy in her heart spilling onto her face.  
  
Bobby hugged her tightly trying to comfort her. "You didn't know that he was going to do this, Claire. You couldn't have known. I guess after today it was too much for him," he told her.  
  
"No, you don't understand," she insisted.  
  
There was a knock at the door before she could continue. Bobby went over and let the cops and the EMT in. He gave them all the information they needed, the sadness hitting him even harder as they took Darien's body away.  
  
He lowered his eyes and helped Claire to her feet. "I'll drive you home. I don't think either of us should be alone right now."  
  
Claire nodded and rode back to her place in silence. Her hands shook as she put the key in the lock, the sobs overtaking her again.  
  
Bobby opened the door for her and they went inside. He let her lean on him walking her over to her couch.  
  
They sat down together quietly for a few minutes before Claire finally found her voice.  
  
"Bobby, I have to tell you something. Please hear me out, alright?"  
  
"Ok, Claire, whatever you want," he agreed.  
  
"What happened to Darien is my fault, at least partially. Before Arnaud escaped he'd given me the information I needed to reverse the quicksilver madness in the gland," she started.  
  
Bobby stared at her. He was upset, but he let her continue.  
  
"I told The Official this and he forbade me from telling Darien. He assumed that if Darien no longer needed counteragent that he'd leave the Agency for good," she sobbed pausing for a moment.  
  
"So there was a way to fix the gland and the fat bastard didn't want you to do it?" he hissed.  
  
"I tried to convince him that Darien would stay, but he wouldn't listen. He threatened that if I fixed the gland and Darien chose to leave that he'd have the gland removed," she finished.  
  
"He was gonna kill Fawkes if he left? He didn't think after all this time that Fawkes had any loyalty?" Bobby raged.   
  
Claire cringed and nodded.  
  
"That son of a bitch!" he stood up for a moment the anger boiling over in him.  
  
Pavlov ran into the room and began barking at him.  
  
"No, Pavlov. Stop," Claire tried to soothe him.  
  
Bobby took a deep breath and let it out. "Claire, it's not your fault. You lied to Darien because you didn't want him to get hurt," he sat back down and took her hand in his.  
  
"But..."  
  
"The Official IS responsible for Darien's death. He cared more for the gland, than for Darien. I always thought he was a bit overbearing...I never thought that he was that much of an asshole," he gathered Claire in his arms.  
  
Claire clung to Bobby and cried even harder. She still felt guilty, but she knew Bobby was right.   
  
They held each other, grieving for their friend and fell asleep on her couch.  
  
  
****  
  
  
The Official came into the office the next day. He was surprised to see Claire and Hobbes already in his office when he got there. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the glare from Hobbes and the sadness in the Keeper's eyes.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked.  
  
Hobbes set his badge down on The Official's desk. "I'm resigning, chief. I can no longer work for a man who cares more about a top secret project than he does about his employees."  
  
"What?" The Official barked.  
  
"I'm quitting too, sir," Claire told him coldly.  
  
"Is this some kind of joke?"  
  
Eberts walked into the office a moment later. "I'm afraid I'm also leaving," he said.  
  
"Shut up, Eberts! Will someone please explain what's going on right now!"  
  
Hobbes had finally had enough. He pushed The Official down into his chair. "You listen, and you listen good cause I'm only gonna tell you this once."  
  
The Official let out a surprised gasp as Hobbes rolled his chair and backed him into a wall.  
  
"You are a sorry excuse for a human being. Your greed and heartlessness cost a man his life. Did you really think so little of Fawkes to think that he'd run away once he didn't have to worry about the madness?" he growled.  
  
"Wha--"  
  
Hobbes cut him off and continued. "Darien Fawkes was a good agent and the best partner I ever had. And now, because you are so small minded, he's DEAD!" he punctuated his last word with a punch to The Official's jaw.  
  
The Official blinked a few times and looked past Bobby to Claire.  
  
Claire stood up and frowned at him. "Yes, SIR," she spat the word at him, "Darien was so upset last night that he went home and shot himself in the head. Since that gland is destroyed now, you have no need of me," before he could reply she spun and stormed out the door.  
  
Bobby raised his hand to strike him again and sighed. "No, you're just not worth it," and followed Claire out.  
  
Eberts took one last look at The Official. He's always respected him, but now he only felt disgust. He left without another word.  
  
The Official stared after them realizing what he'd just done. "Darien...I'm sorry..." he muttered feeling nothing but shame.  
  
  
****  
  
  
Bobby and Claire walked hand in hand up to the headstone. They laid a fresh bouquet of flowers on the grave both saying a silent prayer.  
  
"I'll give you a minute," Claire said kissing Bobby on the cheek and walking back to the car.  
  
"Hey, buddy. I hope you're at peace now. At least you and Kevin are together again," he paused the tears welling up again. It had only been 3 months and it still hurt.  
  
"The Agency shut down soon after we all left," Bobby smirked knowing Darien would find that amusing.  
  
"I started my own business, I'm a private detective now. It's not much, but it pays the bills. Claire is teaching at a local college. I guess neither of us wanted to work for the government anymore, " he went on.  
  
"Oh, she and I are getting married next month. I asked Eberts to be my best man since, well, you..." Bobby stopped and took something out of his coat.  
  
"I really miss you, partner. Take care," he placed a small American flag on Darien's grave and a second one on Kevin's grave.  
  
  
The End  
  
  
Feedback is welcome...  
  
  
A/N: The song lyrics are from 'How You Remind Me' by Nickelback 


End file.
